Why I Love the Boards We Use In Agile Software Development

I know this is going to sound weird, but I have an affinity for the boards we use in Agile Software Development (or Agile Project Management). I’m using the generic term board, but you may refer to them as Storyboards, Taskboards, Testing boards, kanban boards, or simply job boards.

If I get into the way-back machine; back to when I first started my career. I was in Valdosta, Georgia working my first job out of college, Trus Joist MacMillan, and I was being walked around the manufacturing facility. It was in awe and deep appreciation for what I was learning. As I went through the customer service area, I noticed a large magnetic board and on it were these color coded cards with lines that represented stages and dates running across the top. I inquisitively asked, “what is that?” They quickly and proudly gave me the run down that these things all represented our customer’s requests for goods (a.k.a. orders). The columns represented stages of the manufacturing cycle and the lanes represented weeks. This board was the central information hub for the plant — the board described everything going on from department-to-department. It gave the all plant team members indicators as to how busy they, what’s coming up for the next week, and which customer orders were being held up. The other thing I noticed is that as you went throughout the facility, other departments had similar boards that were a reflection of the main board but for the specific customer requests they were working and the boards reflected each departments workflow.

Does this sound familiar?

If it doesn’t, then you are probably not working in an agile world, or living under a rock, or you are using agile by you are missing out on something great. Me and my colleagues talk about metrics a lot – with our customers and internally. Well, in case you didn’t notice, the boards themselves are living breathing metrics. The boards are the team’s communications central as well as a key way to see collectively “how are we doing?”

In fact, the boards often ask just as many questions that they answer. These questions can vary based on your role and whether or not you are an embedded team member using the board or a bystander looking to gain insights from the board. I took on the the challenge of looking at questions asked and answered by the boards and found 40, yes 40 — check them out on this mind map. I’m sure there are more; however, I figured 40 was a good start and stop.

Besides all the questions boards ask and answer, I also love boards for their ability to simplify the portrayal of real-time information while being able to have complex information tucked away in the details. Teams can easily innovate and adapt their boards with the use of colors, pictures, lines, layouts, materials, etc.

Finally, I love boards because they actually build the teams. They provide a place to recognize accomplishments, and they are the place to stand around and talk about what is happening on the project. If you are using an electronic board, you can still gain these valuable intangibles by keeping the board up-to-date and driving all collaborations on what is happening on the boards. Boards give teams focus, while also given them information that empowers them to make decisions to get things done and meet commitments.